Copyright: Take what you will from this, but I own nothing...sadly...

"Satoshi!"

"What do you want?"

"Where's Satoshi?" Naruto energetically demanded and stomped onto the desk when the woman didn't answer her, "Kuromuton Satoshi was put in this hospital a few days ago. What room is he in?"

"Get out you little-" Upon noticing that Uchiha Itachi was the one who had brought the boy to the hospital, the woman nervously smiled to the boy, "Room 843, down the hall to your right."

"Thanks!" Naruto happily cheered and would have ran down the hall if Itachi hadn't stopped him, "Hey!"

"You are in a hospital...walk." Naruto pouted at the neutral Itachi, "Satoshi is no danger of dying."

"Fine..." Naruto agreed as he began a forced march that looked like he was resisting every urge to increase his speed.

"Why did I give him cake?"

"Uchiha-san...how can I serve you-"

"Do not speak to me," Itachi activated his sharingan to emphasize his disgust with the woman, "If you will not give hospitality to a child, why should I expect the same for myself?"

"But he's..." Seeing Itachi's hand grip a kunai hanging out of his patch made the woman reconsider her words, "Forgive me-"

"When he comes back, ask him." Itachi said while pointing to Naruto who had already ran into the Intensive Care Ward, "He is merely here to visit his family."

"He has family-" Itachi's glare further quieted the woman, "Do not judge me Uchiha. Your clan was absent when it attacked our village and killed my brother."

"You have my sympathies, but that child did not kill your brother." Itachi walked away from the woman without another glance. "It's a good thing that Sasuke was not here, he would have caused an incident..."

"Satoshi!"

"What are you doing here boy?" A doctor asked Naruto with a glare that made the boy shudder, "Visiting hours are closed-"

"Is Satoshi alright? I just want to see him-"

"Visiting hours are closed." The doctor repeated despite Naruto's growl, "Besides, only family and other authorized persons are allowed visitation-"

"Naruto?" Naruto's visage changed to excitement and relief when he saw Satoshi sit up out of his bed, "Hey...where am I?"

"You're in a hospital nii-san." Naruto replied and pointed to the doctor, "And this asshole won't let me stay here!"

"I'm only following hospital procedure demo-" The doctor stopped himself though Naruto knew what he was about to say, "As you are clearly not related, I'm going to ask you to leave-"

"That's my little brother...he can stay as long as I authorize it, right?"

"Correct...stay out of trouble boy."

"No promises!" Naruto shouted as the doctor left the room and Naruto jumped into Satoshi's wrapped, but open arms, "Told you that you should've brought me with you!"

"I'm only in here because of a cheap shot..." Satoshi laughed, "Though...if it weren't for Shisui then I'd be dead..."

"But you're not and that's what matters." Itachi remarked from within the doorway, "Naruto wouldn't go anywhere with me until he knew you were alright. How are the burn marks?"

"I haven't felt this bad sense I got bitten by that spider during the Mud Cavern mission..." Satoshi recalled as Itachi nodded with a wary smile. Naruto could tell that this mission may have been an unsettling one for both of them, "It's times like this that make me miss Sensei's Healing Burn...it hurt, but it worked."

"Since you're already conscious and healthy, you won't be here long?"

"Just until tomorrow...then I'm released on medical watch for a week." Satoshi replied and shook Naruto's hair, "Which means that I'll have to look after this little knucklehead and make sure he doesn't cheat on homework."

"I'll still have to go to school?"

"Yes."

"But the house was trashed during the fight!"

"A broken door...a few shattered windows and a damaged bench is hardly what I'd called trashed." Satoshi pointed out to the pouting boy, "Besides, don't you want to brag about helping to take out an A-ranked Assassin?"

"No one would believe me..." Naruto stated and remembered something, "Besides, Hinata was the one who found those strings...all I did was ask her about that byakugan thing."

"So you helped."

"But you could've done that-"

"Not as well as Hinata...trust me." Satoshi said to the boy, "I don't understand the full biology of it...but having two kekkei genkai is not as great as it should sound."

"Why not?"

"Because the dynamics of the two bloodlines heavily conflict with one another..." Satoshi explained, "I'll tell you about it when you're older...but I'll put it to you this way. How does ramen taste when it has BBQ sauce and 1000 island dressing on it?"

"I don't know...I've never tried it." Naruto pondered, "Can we try it?"

"No and I'm going to tell you why...because those are flavors that aren't meant to mix with ramen." Satoshi said, "Same thing with me...Hyuga and Kuromuton aren't meant to have kids together. Because you end up inheriting both of their clan's abilities."

"I don't follow...so you can see through things like Hinata can and you can also see the future!"

"We've been through this before the shinrigan can't see the future." It was an old legend about his father's clan's bloodline technique that always made Satoshi chuckle, "All that it does is read someone's chakra and enhances intuition to determine how it's used."

"Sound's like looking into the future to me."

"You would think so..." Satoshi wouldn't deny that his shinrigan had allowed him to avoid death many times in close calls. But as chakra is melded according to the will of it's user, it can be just as deceptive as the shinobi wielding it, "But they say the future isn't written in stone."

"Guess not," Naruto agreed, "But why's it bad to have two special ninja powers? You can predict people and see right through them! That sounds pretty cool to me."

"There's a down side to everything. Like I said, these two powers aren't meant to be used together," Satoshi explained, "The Byakugan's power is in the eyes and the Shinrigan is in the heart. I can switch between them and be just fine. But when I use both, then I'm overworking my body and it has to recover after I'm done."

"Oh...so do you go blind or something?"

"No, my eyes really hurt though." "He doesn't need to know about the temporary blindness."

"I don't really understand, but at least you'll get better!" Naruto cheered while Satoshi and the observing Itachi smiled, "Sorry Sasuke couldn't come, his dad wanted to talk to him about something that happened at school."

"I won't be here for more than another two days at most. Hell! I could leave right now if not for the Hokage's orders."

"Just make one of those clones and sneak out with the clone taking your place!"

"If my chakra network wasn't so unstable then I would." "That...would make things worse. Trust me."

"Alright," Naruto agreed with a disappointed pout, "Itachi lets me have cake..."

"What?"

"I promised them a treat." Itachi explained to Satoshi's glare, "I kept them under control-"

"We played tag on top of the Yondaime's statue." Naruto blurted out, apparently still on a sugar rush, "I won."

"You gave him cake before he got here?" Itachi scratched his hair with a smirk, "Why?"

"Naruto did well on his test," Itachi replied as Naruto beamed when he held up his graded schoolwork, "Better than many in his class in fact."

"An A-? Great job," Satoshi said to Naruto, "Of course you were paying attention. There's nothing in this quiz that was boring."

"Except for what weapon Madara Uchiha used," Naruto noted with a chuckle, "Why would he use a fan in a fight? What does he want to do? Cool off his enemies?"

"Some fans are made of metal and can be used to trick an enemy." Satoshi explained to the boy, "Or...if you had wind jutsu, then you could use that fan to enhance your jutsu and make it bigger."

"Really? But Uchiha use fire jutsu...Madara didn't use wind jutsu."

"But a well-made fan can still be a lethal weapon in the right hands." Satoshi said to the boy as he recalled one instance where underestimating such a weapon taught him a painful, but valuable lesson, "Take for instance this kunoichi that I met about a year ago..."

xxxxxxxxxx

Sunagakure Chunin Exam Preliminaries...

"Candidate K-4 12 and Candidate I-9 31 step forward!" Wiping sweet from his brow, Satoshi stretched his tired arms and grumbled to himself. It was hard enough to survive the Desert that made up the entirety of the Second Phase of the Exam and now the exhausted 32 survivors had to fight each other in duels until only 8 were left to advance.

And no one was allowed to heal their injuries or restore lost chakra...

"Don't toy with her."

"But she's asking for it! Look at what she's wearing!" The confident Satoshi pointed out, bringing his fellow genin's attention to the heavily layered and sweating girl that was to be Satoshi's opponent, "How did she survive the desert in all of those clothes?"

"She is from Iwa...maybe they know how to live off of dirt?"

"Don't be absurd Iruka," Itachi said to the older squadmate just as Satoshi leapt into the fenced off ring, "What you do reflects on the village and Usagi-sensei."

"I know...I'll end it as soon as I see an opening." The 10 year old genin focused his strained body and bowed to the woman, "I wish you luck...may the best shinobi prevail."

"You are too kind, Kuromuton." The woman replied, her sleeves seeming to grow longer as she stood up, "I wish you luck as well."

"I also apologize..." Satoshi said and fell into a combat stance with his hands held into open loose palms, "My clan code prevents me from harming women unless my life is threatened...so I will have to slap you instead."

"You are cute child..." The girl giggled with a sleeve held up to her mouth, "In my clan...women are treated as equally tough as men. Perhaps Konoha believe their women to be soft and weak? Or is it simply your clan?"

"No...it's a gesture of respect to one who brings life into the world. I meant no disrespect."

"I understand..." The girl replied respectfully, "I am Noriko of Clan Ikari...and I too wish to apologize."

"For what?"

"The fractured bones that you shall suffer." Like that, the duel began with Satoshi on the defensive. The young boy swerved and parried the girl's surprisingly heavy blows before her sleeves tore open to reveal a pair of large folded iron fans which were slashed upon Satoshi's shoulders...

xxxxx

"Good thing that she didn't use wind jutsu or that would've hurt a lot more."

"I'd say that you did fairly well, all things considered," Itachi commented as he also recalled the same incident from a year ago.

xxxxx

Sunagakure Chunin Exam Preliminaries...

"Is Satoshi engaged in his second match?"

"Hai Sensei..." Itachi answered his blind Jonin Instructor while the squad watched their comrade engage the heavily armored graceful dancer from Iwa, "The Ikari Clan was known for their grace."

"Satoshi battles an Ikari? Is he toying with her?"

"Despite the heavy blow that he took earlier...yes..."

"What? He's getting hammered out there!" Iruka objected as Satoshi barely avoided Noriko's opening fan and slapped away her arm before striking her shoulder with another slap, "Come on! I know she's a girl, but cut the honor crap!"

"He really objected to the preliminaries...didn't he?"

"You heard him sensei." Itachi reminded the nodding jonin, "Though his thoughts were likely shared by everyone who came out of that desert...only to have to fight without a chance to recover or heal wounds."

"Does he even understand the point of this preliminary?"

"To weed down excessive numbers so that there's only 8 candidates?"

"Yes and no...the true purpose is to test the endurance and will of those that survived the desert." Hotaka Usagi explained to Iruka and Itachi while Satoshi bent under a fan slash and swiped Noriko's feet from under her and caused her to fall onto her side, "There will be times in a shinobi's life when they will be forced to perform even on the brink of exhaustion when they least expect it. The last stretch of a journey home from an escort mission could easily turn into a battle for your life. Will the enemy relent merely because you are tired and wounded?"

"It will only encourage them more."

"Which is why a true shinobi is ready even when they do not need to be ready." Usagi finished as Satoshi latched onto the girl's back with his legs and double palmed her spine. The girl wildly flailed with her fans before they slipped out of her torn sleeves and she fell backwards with Satoshi easing her onto the floor, "Perhaps that is why Satoshi sees this preliminary as redundant...as the two of you do."

"Sensei...my second opponent passed out from dehydration..." Itachi said with a deadpan expression, "That hardly qualifies me."

"On the contrary, did you pass out?" Usagi asked while Itachi shrugged his shoulders, "And Iruka, did you overexert your chakra in the desert?"

"I barely had any as is..."

"Exactly little ones." Usagi stood up and pat Satoshi on his back when he jumped to their place in the stands, "Congratualations! You've finished your second match!"

"My shoulders hurt...I'm thirsty...I have a cramp in my right leg...my eyes feel like they've got bricks tied to their lids...and I haven't slept in a week..." Satoshi said, no longer hiding the effects of exhaustion which he suffered, "Can we please go to our rooms?"

"Well..." Usagi scratched his chin in thought while his pupils looked on, "After a 2 mile weighted jog."

xxxxx

"I was about ready to slug my sensei across his face." Satoshi laughed, "When you get your sensei, you'll feel the same Naruto."

"Why didn't you punch him?"

"Because he was stronger than me and in every and would have made me regret even trying." Satoshi answered as Itachi nodded and saw a crow perch onto the Uchiha's shoulders, "What is it?"

"Shisui wants to speak with me." Itachi replied as Naruto saw his niisan's face harden, "He said that he would speak with you as soon as you were cleared from recovery leave."

"Not looking forward to it."

"Not surprised," Itachi said as he waved at Naruto and Satoshi, "Mata ashita friends."

"Mata ashita!" Naruto cried out when Itachi left the two by themselves, "Ah...I was expecting him to turn into a bunch of crows like he always does."

"If you use a good thing too much then it becomes boring." Satoshi told his young charge, "Boring equals the same as predictable and as you know."

"The Predictable enemy is a dead one." Naruto finished, "Hey Satoshi...what's a Binjiketa?"

"A what?" Satoshi asked the little blond, "Where have you heard that before?"

"I heard Shisui call you that and then you got really mad." Naruto answered, shaking from the memory of the sheer hatred that Satoshi's eyes wore that night, "Is it a bad thing? Did Shisui call you a bad name?"

"Not exactly..." Satoshi replied while staring at the ceiling, "He was referring to an ancient role within my clan."

"So...he was making fun of you and your clan?"

"Maybe..." Satoshi answered, "In the Kuromuton Clan, a Binjiketa was a distinguished defender who was chosen to resolve disputes of honor and ensure that those involved paid their reparations according to the crime that was committed. Like...let's say that one clan member stole a cow from another, killed it and ate it. The Binjiketa's role would be to ensure that the offender would restore what was lost, either with money, another cow or another livestock of equal value to the cow that was stolen."

"Okay...but...what about if one guy killed another?"

"The Binjiketa would execute them." Satoshi bluntly stated, shocking Naruto while he continued, "Acts such as murder or worst are crimes against life itself. No amount of money will ever replace the life that was lost and no amount of labor can amount for the undeterminable amount of years that were cut from that soul's life. Therefore, the only suitable reparation is the life of the murderer. It won't restore what is lost, but the offender has lost just as much as the one who he killed."

"What if the wrong man was murdered?"

"Then the Binjiketa would take his own life and another would be chosen to take his place. A Binjiketa who failed to determine and see the truth is a dangerous being." Naruto slowly nodded if still shocked, "There are other punishments that I won't tell you because you're too young to hear about them. The Binjiketa was a role from a different time and was largely discontinued by the time the villages were established."

"It seemed like it worked." Naruto pointed out, "Why stop something that works?"

"To keep it from becoming something worst than the demons that are hunted." Satoshi answered, "My sensei once said that revenge was like a forest...the longer you travel through it, the easier that it is to lose your way. In a sense, the binjiketa was a sanctioned vigilante whose actions rewrote the spirit of the law according to their own views. Some Binjiketa's removed arms from thieves who stole bread because the offender was too poor to pay for it; a young woman may be neutered because her father caused an expectant mother to miscarry; a boy could be crippled well into adulthood because he caused an old man to fall by taking away his walking stick; Previously well-guarded flocks would find their shepards blinded because they peeped on bathing women; and it was especially worst if the clan elders and the Binjiketa did not see eye to eye."

"That meant that the Binjiketa did whatever he wanted? Right?" Naruto asked while Satoshi nodded, "Why would the Council disagree with the Binjiketa? Doesn't the Binjiketa work for the council?"

"The Binjiketa is appointed by the elders to work for the clan...but a Binjiketa is not bound to obey the elders." Satoshi clarified, "After all, perhaps the offender is a wealthy patron...maybe he is a strong warrior...maybe she is the daughter of a well-respected clan member...or the evidence against the offender is not enough to justify whatever public risk may be involved. To the Binjiketa, these things do not matter except as excuses not to uphold justice. The failure to uphold justice is a stain against the honor of the clan."

"I can see why that would be a problem..." Naruto said while Satoshi sat up in his bed, "Let's say that a group of warriors did something really terrible and are brought in for justice. But...you're in the middle of a war so having those guys imprisoned or killed may hurt your efforts in that war. The Binjiketa doesn't care about outside stuff, all he cares about is maintaining the clan's honor by getting rid of anything that dirties it. So what happens then?"

"Maybe the Binjiketa will kill them anyway or maybe he won't...the latter may be worst though."

"How come?"

"Because the dishonor of those warriors will stain the entire division and may cause them to perform worst. Furthermore, that disgrace will pass on to their families and affect them-"

"That just sounds stupid." Naruto blurted out while Satoshi's eyes adopted a light that made Naruto uncomfortable, "I mean...isn't the stuff we do our own? Why should something that I do affect my kids? If that happened, then the nicest guy in a village might suffer because his father was a murderer...he doesn't have control over that so..."

"It's complicated, even I don't completely understand it." Satoshi admitted, "Your chakra acts as more than just energy in your body...it also acts as an invisible energy field that attracts energy from people and things around you. You can't see it and you'll probably never learn to use it, but it's there and the energy that makes it is determined by the person within it."

"I have an energy field that I can do whatever I want with?"

"Just follow me Naruto...when you do good things to other people then the positive energy from those actions will be drawn into your field and will make you more receptive to positive moods and momentum..." Satoshi said, unsure if his explanation even made sense, "So...let's take Sasuke for example and how he's so happy all of the time. That's because he and Itachi are brothers who really love each other...so, they're going to draw good energy from this."

"Okay..." Naruto stretched his arms behind his head, "But...a thief is gonna have a negative energy field because they steal all of the time and...that negative energy is gonna get passed on to anyone he meets?"

"Sounds stupid...doesn't it?"

"Well...it's a little hard to wrap my mind around...that's all!" Naruto admitted, "Even then...that kind of thinking seems a little selfish...doesn't every shinobi have a negative energy field?"

"Killing is not the same as murder if that's where you were going..." Satoshi clarified, "You'll find out when you get a headband, but there will be times when shinobi will have to make difficult decisions. You may have to kill a comrade to keep them from being captured or to spare them a needlessly slow and painful death. Sometimes, shinobi operated within neutral towns to hunt and kill enemy infiltrators...collateral damage was always a certainty...There's a difference between the duties of a soldier and mindless murder."

"Right..." Naruto agreed, "I can see why the Binjikita title stopped being used. Can you imagine someone running around with their own meaning of justice? What if they're wrong? What if they're just becoming as bad as a crook or even worst? It's like you said...it's probably best that they stopped when they did."

"Maybe..." Satoshi offered as he lied down on his bed, "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

"Satoshi..."

"I'm not dying. Stay with the Ichirakus until I get out alright?"

"Okay." Naruto agreed when an idea came to him, "Can I stay with-" Realizing who he was about to talk about, he changed his mind.

"With?"

"Nevermind...it was a stupid idea anyway..."

"Itachi and Sasuke?"

"Yeah! Stupid idea right?" Naruto said as he left the room, "I want ramen anyway..."

"Don't use my tab!"

"No promises..." Naruto snickered from the hallway and looked like he was about to run until he seemed to remember something and walked instead with a final wave to Satoshi...

Author's Notes:

This was more of a laid-back chapter, but there's a few tidbits of information that will play a key role in character development in future chapters.

The next chapter will focus more on the home/family life of Hinata and Sasuke and how they're handling themselves in the aftermath of the musical assassin attack.

Terms:

Mata ashita-See you tomorrow